Carol Kenny took over the Swan Inn in Mattishall less than 12 months ago, but she is now walking away from the pub game because of rising rent, bills and business rates, which are set to cost her thousands more in the new year.

Landlady Carol Kenny says she can't afford to keep The Swan Inn in Mattishall open in the new year because of Rachel Reeves' budget (Image: Sonya Duncan)

The pub will close on Sunday with Ms Kenny behind the bar for the final time.

It leaves Mattishall, which has a population of more than 2,500, with the prospect of becoming one of the largest villages in Norfolk without a pub.

Although the owners hope to find a new landlord to take on the lease in the new year, some in the village fear it may end up without a pub for the first time since at least the 18th century, when the Swan opened.

Experts have said that many other towns and villages could suffer a similar fate with warnings that hundreds of hospitality venues and tens of thousands of jobs will be lost due to tax rises announced by the chancellor in last month's budget.

Critics have accused Rachel Reeves of "sentencing countless pubs to death" by hiking their rates by thousands of pounds each year.

They say she delivered “a budget for benefits street", raising taxes on businesses and working people........

© Eastern Daily Press